In this Psalm the writer Asaph speaks of Israel receiving God’s laws and Commandments but not being obedient to them. Israel witnessed God’s power and enjoyed God’s blessings. However, they did not take God’s guidance to heart. Asaph says of Israel, “A generation that did not prepare its heart, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
The Bible says that ‘we are to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, and with all of our soul.’ We must have a deep motivation to obey God. We are not to worship Him with mechanical rituals. God wants us to worship Him in “Spirit and in Truth.”
I believe that religion has not provided an environment that promotes true worship and obedience to God. Religion establishes rituals that only motivate going through the motions. Religion leads people to believe that mechanical rituals find favor with God. They do not.
The Bible says that we must be “born again” in order to rightly believe and live our lives. This is a spiritual rebirth. Being ‘born again’ will give us the ability and motivation to repent of our sins. Repentance is necessary if we want to remain on the pathway to Heaven.
